Chapter Text
Kim Sunoo loves midnight skies.
He loves the extended gloom makes everyone peer through black hole or stare into nothing as if eyes were back of its lids.
The extended darkness that was seemingly intimidating that would threaten anyone to dart right back into spooky imaginations that were made after portraying themselves being some stupid protagonist in stupid horror, mystery or paranormal genre films.
He loves the somber shade of skies every night. The peace and tranquility it exudes are bland and unassuming, but they make it worthwhile to begin daydreaming. And as a result, he will be left fully awake once again and forced to watch it all through glass windows.
However, Sunoo loves night skies better without stars.
While some people treat the stars as though they were the apple of their eyes, spending days or weeks or even worse years of learning constellations and staying up late at night under sheets with someone they felt comfortable being with just to talk about the stars, stars, and only stars. Kim peculiar Sunoo did not like it at all. [It was somewhat imperative enough to stress the middle name.]
He thinks it's stupid to left out the sky itself after admiring the stars alone.
It's stupid to not realize that stars are just a mere glitter-like something scattered over a bland yet perfect (in someone's perspective) artwork-like scenery. In contrary to that, realistic arts may be varied.
Stars are like some highlighter pens tinted over the inked marks paper. Or some inventive (or just words) tattoos punctured into any skin tones. Or the shining glitters and laces pierce in dress to fill the lackness and blandness of it. Stars were designed to be very humane.
But it might only be a star. a naturally luminous object that can be seen in the night sky. Or simply a forest spread across a vast, dark area. Or a deserted island surrounded by a cerulean ocean. Stars can be everything we wish them to be or to be. Or anything we can conjure up resemblances with. And the goal of it all is to glorify God by beautifying His creation with a little bit of human creation.
It was wonderful yet still, Sunoo hasn't taken a like of it.
Yes, peculiarly saying.
He loves being the different. He loves figuring out the difference between prosaic and odd.
He enjoys the weird looks he gets when he enters a room with zombie-like traits. He reflected everyone's critical looks with his trademark icy shoulders. The sniggers he receives whenever some of his seatmates will asks him to bite them with his canine-like teeth and sharp incisors to escape school grounds, especially when PE starts. At some point, he liked it all.
He also loves the idea of no one wanted to befriend him in daylight, because there is already someone likes to be with him at night time.
But it doesn't make him unique at all.
The way he thinks, talks, his tastes, food likings, do the unfriendly gestures, the disrespect towards some olders, it's certainly doesn't make him odd. In someone's perspectives it was just normal, ordinary, prosaic with the help of poor basis.
But mainly because, there is this boy named Nishimura Riki, working on a blank jigsaw puzzle across his room.
And if Sunoo is peculiar, Riki is the word 'peculiar'. If Sunoo is odd, Riki is the more, more opposite of even. If Sunoo is extraordinary, Riki is very extraordinary. To put this words more apprehensible, Nishimura is the hyperbole and Kim is the simple statement.
"What are you thinking."
It was the familiar velvety voice that brought him back from dreamland, unfortunately, it was from the dreamland itself. And hell, it wasn't even the interrogative at all, but more on a statement that was answerable by Sunoo's long and straight explanation furthermore.
And of course he chose not to.
Sunoo looks up at him, the light from the flashlight clasp on his head (yes, he's that weird.) immediately followed suit, which annoyingly helps because he's now able to see his blank expression, his sat-up criss cross position back props by the door and the blank stupid jigsaw puzzle pieces scatter around his room.
He looks down, literally, to figure out what really he's doing and of course he was just reading, more on skimming and then his mind darted inside the book titled Starry Night from the famous novelist and particularized everything up even if it doesn't make sense at all.
"I'm not thinking of any, I'm just reading a book." He spits out partly fact and waves his book, the Educational one to prevent any future argumentations and lay on his side [because his body felt numb from lying on his stomach for hours?] to watch Riki do the drill.
The swag roll of the eyes.
And Sunoo's usual response got the best out of him, he laughs. Not the exaggerate but the cute one. His eyes curved like a perfect shape hill, thick eyelashes were the trees swaying but the opposite way which is now upside down, back and forth. The apple of his cheeks pushes up with evident blush coruscating. And his lips, the lips that curved in opposite of his eyes, opposite of the hill.
Perfect in one word.
Although anyone would find it, the eyes roll drill, rude but when its come from Riki, anyone will absolutely adore it. He's doing it too exaggerate, he's desperate. He's trying to look more intimidating than he actually is but yeah always fails and that was one hella cute, always cute. Sunoo thinks that.
Riki wheezes, annoyed, and God does he find it funny when it reaches his ears. Suddenly freed from self-awareness, Sunoo failed to conceal his own emotions as his mind works on capering in admirations.
They both hate lights on when its night time even though they both needed it, more on his side for now because its annoying when Sunoo, being the normally source of light literally, feel like staring at him and the round stupid light would follow that would ruin his sort of given attention to anything, or the thing called jigsaw puzzle. And that's one hella annoying.
Sudden light booming made Sunoo in hurry. Hurry on setting things aside from his bed that gone haywire. He rolled after fixing sheets and his excessive pillows and other stuffed toys, and watch Riki open his mouth, on time for finally having words.
"Heck, Sunoo. yYu're not moving for almost a—an hour? I thought you're slumbering with your eyes wide open which is no way because you aren't that weird at all and— what?"
Sunoo didn't pay attention of all of Riki's blabberings because he thinks its stupid. Its stupid to listen even when he already knows it. hardly, but still. "You were staring?" he repeats, less of a whisper and more comprehendible, upper and lower teeth on display for a wide but a sheepish grin to make an adorable appearance.
Three words which caught Riki off guard.
"Staring—w-what?" swallows. "Of course not—"
"Then how did you even know my eyes aren't close and not moving?"
"I, I." Riki breathes, a pause. "I didn't stare, I just watched you—"
"Oh wow." grins with an evil thought, "don't you think watching is worst than staring?—"
"No.", a pause, thinking. "uh, I mean yeah but—"
"But?"
Unluckily, Sunoo is in the time of the day, he's up for the thing called, teasing.
Sunoo was fully decided on pissing a certain redhead as he exhales and mumbles an soft and breathy, 'aigoo that was rude riki-kun'. Which he knows, it's tricky. And somehow, will punch Riki square in the jaw figuratively once he heard it. He plops back on his bed after, suddenly ready for a good nap.
Or maybe for otherwise that was much worst.
"Fine." Riki exhales, finally considered. "I did it—"
"What did you do? hm?"
"I stare or did spare you a single glance—but, that's not the whole point. I just asked about what were you thinking but you," points Sunoo, utterly emphasized. "you just brought my no malicious intent stares up and—"
"Woah, wow." Sunoo gulp his sudden hiccup, hard and sat up. Back pressed on headrest and crosses his arms over his silk top. All looking utterly offended. "I just brought your no maliciou— wait, are you saying that I, kim Sunoo, a freaking malicious person!?"
"Sort of? Pfft. Uh no, actually yeah. You were being." Riki had a time correcting, composing himself. He had to say it hardly as sternly as it was, all because of stupid funny faces Sunoo has been making upon hearing it, whole face screaming 'oh my god I swear—' like a freaking twelve.
"I was? No way. I am not, brat. Like never." Sunoo wheezes, annoyed. He felt stupid for bringing 'it' up. Much better if they bicker about movies instead of 'this' nonsense.
"You were. But don't worry, its fine." Riki uses the tone, usually mothers used for their kids. And started wiggling his brows as he whispers an, proud and confident, "maybe you were just being intrigued by my hot stares that had you all flustered like," Riki stops to look up on him.
Sunoo immediately fiddled with the hem of his sweater in response. Stupidly waiting to feel more embarrassment and mortification like as if its still wasn't enough, and eventually feeling warm on his cheeks after they finally made an short and quick [and sweet] eye contact before Riki spit words, stupid words, "you, looking all flustered just like now—"
"Wait! You didn't have to come that far—" Sunoo insist himself on Riki but he just had an cheeky smirk from him as a response and the stupid phrase, he hardly get to used with, "well, you started it and two can play."
Two can play, of course it was like two Sunoo or two Riki or just one Sunoo and Riki, one started and the other gonna end it.
Five years of friendship did them a great dynamic duo. Gives them roles to act on, helps them to grow and taught them how to settle an argument, or bickering rather. At that, they will need someone to overpass, to overboard, in other words, to tease like a no homo bros from old (but gold) fanfics—
Or just shrugged it off and let silence come at once like a cool bros. But they aren't like that. Sunoo and Riki are peculiars, odd kinds that would never ever want to play it cool.
Sunoo did the drill and settle himself under sheets, tucked up til his chin and mumbles an, determined, "iI was just thinking about our next movie, you don't need to be all nervous and worried, tsk tsk."
Knowing Riki, for approx, five years, he is expecting some sarcastic stupid toothy smiles to be serve as response because despite of being badass kid Riki is towards others. He knows he won't hurt him, at least in wrestling.
Or so he thought.
"Well as for that, I have a suggestion." Riki chewed his bottom lip to prevent from smirking. "How about we get a replay of a-wounded-woman-fell-face-first-in-the-scary-well movie?"
In split second, as what he have expected. Sunoo, lurched forward with a loud gasps, had the most painful and wrecked reaction in his whole life, and shakes his head to shout an firm, "no!" his voice a little bit high pitched and not precise and as determined as never ever before. "we are not watching the grudge, brat!"
Even if riki made it sounds too funny, like hell face first? Just pray Sadako won't spare a visit in your sweet dream tonight and ruin it by pushing you off the well, or crawl invertedly all the way up the stairs while looking straight in your eyes and mouth hanging agape so wide or worst drag you inside the tele—, the grudge or Sadako herself is still scary.
And he knows it was still not enough, and so, sunoo throws his legs off the duvet and sat on the edge of his bed, facing the brat and fully decided to throw a fit.
"Gosh, that movie gave me a year-long nightmares! After I watched it, I never, as in never! I never step near on wishing wells again even on my birthday which is," out of breath, so he breathes then soon continues. "which is I never miss. . I never failed on doing for the first thirteen years of my living!"
A pause.
A long dreadful one.
For considering? Both boys didn't know.
And Sunoo feels good for venting out once in a while.
It was a silence only meant for the two boys, to just talk without words. To think about something without its origin or to just stare and Sunoo did it exactly.
He let himself get drown on Riki's brown orbs for, he hardly knows, a little while. If swimming is the possible word of what he's doing right that moment, he would absolutely plead guilty. However, there is substantial evidence to the contrary. It's the truth that he's not guilty about the staring.
Nishimura Riki had this cutest eyes in the world. It was almost straight and a little curvy. An upside-down obtuse angle in other words, when he smiles and can stretch a real horizontal line when he glares. But for now as Sunoo figures out, shape doesn't matter because it can also melt someone. Like Superman using his eyes with an angry red, lasers, or the one eyed, savage giant cyclopes or the fiction one in Marvels.
It was like riki has this superpower because Sunoo can't look away. He felt like Riki's eyes coaxing him to not to. To dive deeper and to swirl with his. And when he does,
He didn't like what he just felt after.
So he looks away. Soon wondering why an sudden staring contest get held and they were both contestants when sunoo, emphasized earlier staring is rude but still happened anyways.
"Tell me more about it."
Sunoo's heart stammered so as his own wording. "W-what? about what? about that movie?!" Because there's no hint of playfulness in his voice and face. He's now firm and precise, stern and compose. Guess, Riki's playful era did disband for good.
"Partly yeah." He watches riki sat up, no longer clutching stupid pieces but his shins instead, thighs pressed on his chest as he look up at him. Sunoo looks away in shame. "But I'm more interested in your birthday celebrations and," Riki trails off.
"And?"
"And I'll be grateful if you, at least, tell me something about it."
Sunoo sighed shakily. "Okay. But question." Riki just hummed in response, he nervously carried on. "Why so suddenly?"
It does partly make sense, from movie to his birthday celebrations. Or from horror wishing wells to an actual dreamy wishing wells Sunoo loves. So yeah, it actually made sense.
"And right, you don't have to answer that." Sunoo smiled sheepishly. "When exactly do you want me to start? My 10th birth—"
"Your fifth birthday."
"W-wait, are you bored?" Sunoo asked, sliding down the mat and rests his chin on top of his knees. He stares at him memorizing his face before clamping his eyes shut for good.
"Because if you are, we can talk about movies instead. Or watch movies like we always do. What about re-watching the grudge? Bro, I'm down for it which is y'know very sudde—"
"Sunoo."
The said guy ignores it.
"—trust me its really boring. It will bore you to the whole extent. Which is why I'm suggesting for that movie. I kinda miss her pale face, her funny stance and I'm definitely sure its more worthy spending your time I—"
"Kim Sunoo."
Sighing, Sunoo pursed his lips shut for a second and blew long dragged breath, considering. "fine."
"I turned five and my father turned into ashes." Sunoo sighs as his tone went lower, almost whispering. "And I don't want to talk about it."
And Riki did actually struck him for good because now he could actually saw the regrets in his eyes. Regret for asking dumb questions. Regret for actually getting to know him deeper. It hurts because Sunoo didn't want any regrets in their relation. Hence, he smiles. He smiles like it wasn't a bad move.
"Sorry."
"It's fine."
"I didn't know that. But alright, peach." his voice sounded so soft, firm and precise. It was the opposite of his usual tone, more endearing that had Sunoo feel freaking mortified when it bounces in four corners and reaches his ears. "we are not watching the grudge."
Kim Sunoo loves midnight skies.
Every morning he's so sure about it because he's missing the extended darkness. The gloominess, the tranquility—but when its night time he personally thinks, he just barely love it.
Maybe it was just an lifesaver alibi. Maybe he just made it up to spiced out his life. Or maybe its just the exact time nishimura riki usually shows up. And maybe he is the one he misses at day time not the night skies and midnight.
There were also no stars when Riki shows up. so maybe that's also the reason why he still hasn't taken the like of it. Or maybe there are, he just didn't notice it yet because there is riki—
"I'm not peach." Sunoo mumbles, sparing one glance on kid, whose slouching on mat and still working on stupid blank jigsaw puzzle (for approximately hundredth time this night), and plops back on his bed.
After settling himself warm and comfy under his covers, Sunoo untucked his head and tilted it to peek over stupid boy across the room, who suddenly expressed an long tired yawn.
That had him to finally notice the angry red 4:00am on his alarm clock that was blinking rapidly for him to grasp on reality. Of course, another night with him will end because he will feel this so-called sleepiness, reality that he didn't catch sleep at all.
"Are you feeling sleepy?" he says, unimpressed when Riki just shook his head and reach for another stupid puzzle pieces.
Sunoo have it expected. The response he usually got from riki when he start asking about the napping at night, because he feels Riki don't like sleeping with him at all. Since his words were likely to be followed by an invitation, 'you can sleep on couch or in bed beside me only if you want.', that got declined by an stupid shook of his head. And so he revised his question and just mumbles an bitter, "when are you leaving anyways?", because he knows better.
And the reply was so instant, Riki rose up on his seat, or mat rather and wipes some dust off his crumpled sweatpants before muttering an, "finally. I thought you're never gonna ask.", that echoed throughout the room before it bounces back on his ears.
Sunoo rolled his eyes at last, before making it at rest, since he's feeling teary which is very sudden. Maybe because of the cool air from open window or some freaking dust pierced inside his eyes and definitely not because of Riki didn't want to sleep with him or stay atleast a little longer dilemma.
Which he thinks less of his worries for now. Because he sees Riki making his way to him, through his shrunken eyes almost peeking, but a good peek. And his breath hitch when he saw him bent forward, with his now wide round eyes, and leant down til he's inhaling the air Riki breathes out. Til his breaths fanning over his warm face and til Riki's soft lips made a contact with his sweaty forehead.
"I'll be back at ten'o'clock tonight. We'll re-watch some of your favorite movies while eating sweet corn, ice creams or whatever you like. We'll wear matching pyjamas and sit on floor while blanket on our shoulders and mug filled with hot choco in our shaky hands but very careful not to spill any."
Riki always make him feel special, feel blessed and feel less mortified and embarrassed, which is the main reason why he's looking everywhere but at Sunoo, to avoid any episodes of unforgettable moments to look backward to.
Looking anywhere but at Sunoo, whose looking so flustered with deep red shade adorning his soft and fluffy face. The eyes were exaggeratedly shut, popped drop of tears sticking on his of course also clamped shut long lashes and his lips. The bottom lip caught in between his teeth and one that was shivering, not in coldness but because he's indeed flustered.
Also include the sweats and the incredible beats his heart has been doing for almost three minutes, which is listed on deadliest blah blah on net. And he doesn't know how far his main organ, his heart would last if Riki didn't make his exit quick and easy like how fast the sweet short good night kiss on forehead took place on his mind that was definitely for-keeps.
"But for now you will sleep and let peace takes the surroundings with you, all happy in your strange dream. . . Have a sweet dream, peach."
He maybe stupid to not notice the countless stars peeking through one of those windows [that was seems to contradict his first statement about absence of stars when he's with him]. The sun that was now slowly making action to rose over the horizon and the thought of being late again in his late morning class but sunoo eventually knows, he could care less. He could care less for now.
Because there is Riki worth spending all of his with. His time, effort, energy, stares, anything you name it. Although he keeps denying it for five years until few minutes has passed, he loves Nishimura Niki. More than midnight skies, a bit lesser from all he has for his own horror collection. But definitely more than those stupid stars.